Digitization has become a dominant force in education, improving access and transforming learning outcomes. This interview delves deeper into the work of Teachmint- an organisation which aspires to revolutionise the education sector with its Integrated School Platform (ISP)- an all-in-one school digitization solution. In a world where classrooms have remained unchanged for decades, Teachmint's ISP stands out by elevating efficiency, effectiveness, and information parity in education systems. The ISP empowers stakeholders at every level, offering advanced administrator tools, a modern learning management system, premium learning content, and a one-stop fee payment solution.
Teachmint believes in breaking barriers and achieving equity through technology, equipping children with the necessary skills for an ever-evolving global economy. The company envisions building truly global classrooms that offer world-class education to children everywhere. Their recent partnerships with the Hope Foundation, IN-DEED Foundation, and Centum Foundation for their TeachBharat program aim to make government schools in India future-ready. The TeachBharat program, launched in 2022, has already digitized several government schools, resulting in improved attendance and enrollment figures, and transforming learning outcomes for thousands of children. Through an integrated platform, TeachBharat provides adaptable digital solutions for administrators, teachers, students, and parents. It empowers teachers to deliver relevant digital content, conduct assessments, and personalize students' learning journeys. The program also establishes systems for co-curricular education, and provides anytime access to digital content.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Aditya Agarwal, the Vice President of Business at Teachmint sheds light on the unique value proposition of Teachmint, its impact on learning outcomes, collaborations with foundations, the digitization of government schools, teacher training initiatives, and the company's future plans.
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Q. Can you explain Teachmint's unique value proposition and how it differentiates itself from other ed-infra platforms in the market?
Education has hardly seen technology interventions that create industry-altering transformation at scale. The vast majority of our classrooms still look and run the same way as they did 50 years ago. This means that natural outcomes of technology adoption- efficiency, effectiveness and information parity, all remain largely untapped for our global education systems. Hence, there is a disproportionately large impact that can be created through technology solutions that are able to solve for adoption at scale.
Teachmint is transforming the education infrastructure space with grassroot digitization through our flagship product, the Integrated School Platform (ISP). An all-in-one school digitization solution, the ISP empowers every stakeholder at a school with its one-stop solution equipped with advanced administrator tools, a modern learning management system, premium learning content, and a unique all-in-one fee payment solution.
Q. The current educational discourse is heavily dominated by digitization. While digitization surely improves access, what kind of impact does it have on actual learning outcomes? What metrics do you use to assess the impact of your work?
We assess the impact of our work by monitoring data on student attendance and performance for a minimum of a three month period for insight into ground impact on a project basis. Digitization has had an incredible impact on learning outcomes for students with Principals and Teachers at partner institutions reporting higher student interest, attendance and enrollment post implementation.
Q. Teachmint recently announced partnerships with Hope Foundation, IN-DEED Foundation, and Centum Foundation. Can you tell us more about these collaborations and how they will contribute to improving education access and outcomes (esp. for first generation learners)?
Teachmint recently partnered with Hope Foundation, Indeed Foundation & Centum Foundation to make government schools in India future-ready in alignment with the Government of India’s National Education Policy 2020. We have partnered with them under TeachBharat by Teachmint.
TeachBharat aims to provide impactful, relevant and easily adaptable digital solutions for government school stakeholders - administrators, teachers, students and parents - through an integrated platform and essential enablers. Together we will enable schools to become NEP ready and maximize their reach and impact, including:
- Empowering teachers to deliver relevant digital content, conduct assessments and derive personalized insights of their student’s learning journey
- Establishing systems in schools to impart education on co-curricular courses such as financial literacy, communication skills, etc. using online classes.
- Providing students with anytime anywhere access to digital content, study material recommended by teachers, practice question banks on curriculum, and,
- Enabling schools with essential infrastructure for adopting digital education solutions
Q. Digitizing government schools is a significant endeavor. How are you working with policymakers, administrators, and teachers to ensure smooth integration and adoption of technology?
We are working to digitize government schools in alignment with the Government of India’s National Education Policy 2020. To this effect, we are working in alignment with our policymakers by empowering administrators, teachers and students with the Teachmint Integrated School Platform (ISP). The ISP offers a comprehensive suite of tools that empowers all stakeholders within a school. This strategic move was an extension of our vision to empower the existing education ecosystem with technology, thus addressing the needs of every stakeholder.
We are also working with teachers to upskill them and support them to integrate technology effectively into their classrooms in alignment with the government continuous professional development mandate. With upskilling courses aimed at empowering teachers to achieve more, we are also empowering teachers with new teaching techniques that can transform learner experiences in their classrooms.
Q. Teacher training is a crucial aspect of digitizing schools. How is Teachmint equipping teachers with the necessary skills and support to integrate technology effectively into their classrooms?
The acquisition of twenty-first century competencies and skills is essential for teachers and school leaders. As the imperative for the professional growth of teachers and other stakeholders has gained significant prominence, we have rolled-out upskilling programs developed in alignment with CPD as per NEP 2020.
The sessions, developed with OrangeSlates, will combine modern learning strategies and insights into the student psyche, empowering teachers with the skills and knowledge to personalize learning and improve student learning outcomes. Each class will cover a wide range of topics like how to implement experiential learning and utilizing effective learning strategies based on cognitive approaches such as metacognition, schema theory, and cognitive load theory.
Through this offering, we want to empower educators with access to some of the most effective teaching techniques and other advancements in education from the very best in the industry.
Q. What are the timelines set by Teachmint for the digitization of government schools? Are there any specific milestones or targets that you aim to achieve within a certain period? How has the progress been so far? Since you are working in the public education space, are you working (or plan to work) towards any collaborations with state governments?
Teachmint has been working with state governments, corporations and NGOs to digitize government schools in India and give learners and educators access to state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Teachmint started as a mobile-first, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that provided a comprehensive end-to-end platform for teachers. This solution allowed teachers to conduct and record classes, manage assignments, track attendance, and more. In 2021, we saw a 500% rise in teachers’ recording live classes in Tamil Nadu in alignment with a state government directive to do the same.
In late 2022, we also launched TeachBharat by Teachmint under which we have partnered with corporations and NGOs to digitize government schools all over India. Under this programme, we recently digitized 10 government schools in Noida that have seen a rise in attendance and enrollment figures, transforming learning outcomes for close to 5,000 children in the city.
Q. Lastly, what message would you like to convey to the broader education community, policymakers, and stakeholders about the importance of digital transformation in education and Teachmint's role in driving this transformation?
Breaking barriers and achieving equity through technology is the key to equip children with the necessary skills for an ever-evolving global economy. To achieve this, we must equip educators all over the world with tools that facilitate comprehensive learning and development for them and their students. With the Teachmint Integrated School Platform, we are delighted to build truly global classrooms that give world-class education to children everywhere. Our roadmap ahead is to continue pursuing our goal of expanding the impact of education by bringing efficiency, effectiveness and information parity through our technology offering.
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